So, this is how it's like
by otakugamer27
Summary: Nozaki Mayu has never experienced romantic feelings for anyone, much less someone that happens to be his shy, older friend, Mikoshiba Mikoto. Side pairings: Nozakura, HoriKashi and WakaSeo. also available on Wattpad
1. Part 1: Flowers aren't as pretty

**A/N: Yoooo, what up? I dedicated my summer to watch GSNK, read the manga and the fanfics there are. Sadly, I'm sure I've read them all. So, this is mostly a Mayumiko fic 'cause OTP, but Nozakura, WakaSeo and HoriKashi side pairings!! Sorry if there are grammar mistakes, English isn't my first language (where my geekRican otakus at?)**

 **P.S.: The constant text messaging might be confusing. You have to watch out for the "To" and "From". But enough about me. GSNK doesn't belong to me and blah blah y'all know the drill.**

Nozaki was restless. Mikoshiba was unavailable for the weekend, so he was a little behind on accents. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed.

"Sakuraaaaa..." he groaned.

"I'm not wearing that stupid sailor outfit, Nozaki-kun"

Nozaki frowned. Mikoshiba would usually come up with a plot. Hori and Sakura had good head plots, but since Mikoshiba himself was Mamiko.

"Maybe I could ask Kashima for some ideas. I can just say it's for a play I'm writing" Hori suggested. He didn't know Mikoshiba was in charge of the accents and flowers, he just thought Nozaki's mood was caused by the lack of the redhaired's antics.

"That sounds great. She seemed kinda depressed the other days, though. Whenever I asked her, she would just sigh" Sakura informed sadly, "did you two have a fight?"

Hori shook his head. "Well, we're always fighting. But a very bad argument? No", he said and looked up to the ceiling. "I think she said something about Mikoshiba acting strange before leaving for the weekend..."

"MIKOSHIBAAA" Nozaki sobbed, which irritated Hori and Sakura.

"It's okay, senpai. We'll come up with ideas for Mamiko" Wakamatsu said. "Let's see..."

A chime beep was heard.

Panic was brought to Wakamatsu's face even before he checked his phone. He was already getting dizzy.

"Not now" he softly whined. He opened his phone.

[ **From: Seo-senpai** ]

 ** _Yo, Waka. Bring me spicy ramen from Akai's. Hurry up_**

Wakamatsu sighed. "That's my cue. I wouldn't want her showing up here out of nowhere"

The idea haunted Nozaki to no end.

"Oh, why can't I meet Lorelei already? She'd save me from this eternal nightmare" Wakamatsu daydreamt.

Sakura, Nozaki and Hori had a deadpanned look on their faces.

"Yeah, I uh, wonder why" Sakura really wanted to tell him. Nozaki always kept her from doing so.

"Okay, fine. You can leave" Nozaki groaned. Now he had one person less to help him. The deadline was next Friday, but he was sure he'd manage.

Before Wakamatsu headed out the door, Nozaki stopped him.

"Wakamatsu, before you leave... how would you feel putting on a bra?" Nozaki bluntly asked, earning mouth-agape, weirded out Wakamatsu, Hori and Sakura. This guy was _really_ running out of ideas.

"SENPAI, WHAT THINGS ARE YOU ASKING?!?!"

_

Mikoshiba and his parents had just gotten home from Hokkaido. He went to visit his family for his grandma's birthday. It was a long trip, but it finally ended.

It was already past midnight and Mikoshiba really wanted some sleep. Setting his things aside, he remembered the souvenir he got for Mayu, Nozaki Umetarou's younger brother. It was an action figure of a bear wearing a judogi while doing a kuzure kesa gatame, a judo technique, to another petrified bear. Mayu was not really a figurine collector, but he knew that he'd love anything that involved judo.

Mikoshiba was always an insecure person, even if the girls who followed him didn't see it. Mayu's praise of his senpai made him feel amazing. Like he was finally worthy of admiration, not just because of his looks.

Suddenly, he received a text message.

[ **From: Mayumayu** ]

 ** _Sry I haven't posted artwork for a while. Midterms coming up. Hope ur doing well!!_**

Mikoshiba blushed and smiled to himself. Whoever this girl was, he really wanted to meet her. He didn't know what it was, but something from Mayumayu was different from other girls. She made him feel a little more confident. Probably because she was kind of virtual like his dating videogames?

He sighed, throwing himself in his bed and putting the phone over his heart.

_

"You want me to help you with your manga?" Mayu sleepily asked, lying in his parents' couch.

"Mayu, your sentences are actually becoming longer!!" Umetarou exclaimed happily. "Anyways, you're also a creative person when you put your heart into it. Tell me about your classmates!" he got out his notepad and pencil.

Mayu groaned, "Sleep"

"Don't go to sleep yet. Help me! The deadline's next week"

When Mayu wouldn't answer, Nozaki Umetarou knew what to say.

"Mikoshiba just got back from Sapporo last night. I invited him over to add the accents and flowers"

Mayu didn't turn his head to face his older brother. Although his face was as monotonous as always, there was a bright gleam in his eyes.

Mikoshiba arrived about fifteen minutes later, taking a seat in the Nozaki family room. He saw that Mayu was lying on the couch, probably sleeping. Mikoshiba grinned and decided to mess Mayu's hair.

"I don't mean to wake you up, but I brought you something from Hokkaido" he said.

Mayu shifted slightly, looking at the older boy. Mikoshiba got the figurine out of the bag.

"Mikoto-san..." Mayu said in awe as he sat.

"I know. Aren't I the best senpai ever?" Mikoshiba boasted.

Mayu simply nodded, taking the figurine in his hands. "This is the third"

"The third gift? It's no problem, every weird thing kinda reminds me of you. And I was sure not to mess up like the time I bought you that smartphone case" Mikoshiba said, oblivious to the fact that Mayu began blushing. His face remained stoic, though.

"Thank you" Mayu replied.

"Alright, Mikoshiba, let's work on whatever you have in mind" Nozaki said, appearing from the kitchen, bringing tea.

"You just have a big writer's block, don't you?" the red-haired asked a little annoyed.

"I REALLY DO, IT'S BEEN GOING FOR TWO WHOLE DAYS. PLEASE HELP!" Nozaki begged, joining both of his hands as if he were praying.

"Okay okay. I've got an idea"

After they were almost done, Mikoshiba was focused on adding flowers to the sketches everyone but him had worked on when he was away.

"Hmm... maybe I can add a lot of amaryllis? No. Maybe something related to thepesias? No. I'll just add shimmer then" Mikoshiba muttered to himself.

Mayu woke up once again and this time, he sat on the floor next to Mikoshiba.

"Red thepesias are pretty" Mayu gave his opinion, reaching for his backpack and taking out some of his notebooks.

"Oh, you mean thepesia grandifloras? They're originally from the Caribbean, though. You know what they are?" Mikoshiba asked, intrigued and surprised Mayu would know about them.

"Science class" Mayu answered. He began working on a science homework he had.

"You're actually paying attention in class? You're _doing homework_ right now?" Mikoshiba asked. It surprised him that the extreme sack of lazy bones would do anything school-related. It surprised him he would do anything at all.

"Midterms. I want the judo team to promote me for Roman High's" Mayu answered.

"Wait, isn't our high school pretty far from here? You'd have to take a 20 minute train ride and like 15 by foot every day. Isn't that too much work?" Mikoshiba asked.

"Mother hesitated at first. She said I could live with nii-san" Mayu answered lazily. Explaining further was nothing he planned.

Mikoshiba stayed silent. So Mayu was going to Roman High? It was great actually. Except for the fact that Mayu would see him failing at talking with girls every single day, which would be embarrassing, and not to mention, not senpai-worthy.

He sighed and looked at Mayu's homework.

"I know I suck at well, every other class but, I'm pretty good at science. I could help you" Mikoshiba offered.

Mayu nodded. So far he was fine.

 _'Oh, true. Mayu is actually really smart. If only he paid attention in class or didn't fall asleep halfway through tests, leaving them unfinished, then he'd probably be the top of his class'_ Mikoshiba thought.

After a few minutes, Mayu stopped working and looked at Mikoshiba. Mikoshiba looked at him, and his gaze followed to where the pencil was at in the notebook.

"The difference between tulips and daffodils? That's easy. So, they usually go together in gardens but..."

Mikoshiba kept explaining, but Mayu stopped listening when he found himself staring at Mikoshiba's excited face. The way his hair moved while he dramatized the lecture. The way he blushed because he knew he'd be embarrassed about being a botanic nerd. He was...

"Did that help?" Mikoshiba asked.

Mayu just nodded, lying of course. He knew the difference between the plants. He had already read this in the textbook, but he enjoyed watching the older guy express himself with confidence. He knew that by doing that, he'd help him slowly get rid of his insecurities.

"W-why are you staring at me like that?" Mikoshiba asked, sweaty, blushing and a bit panicked. This wasn't the first time Mayu had awkwardly stared at him, but he was always equally startled.

"Cute" Mayu complimented and went back to his homework.

"W-wahh?" Mikoshiba asked in shock. Even though he loved it when people complimented him, Mayu's flattery still wasn't something he was used to. He could be very unpredictable at times. Something about his words were different, and the way he put them made a way into his heart. He'd be lying if he said that he didn't like them at all.


	2. Part 2: Eh?

Seeing Wakamatsu being tortured by Seo depressed him. Equally Kashima getting beat up by Hori, but he couldn't waste this opportunity.

 ** _Flashback_**

 _Nozaki and Miyako were discussing new ideas for their respective mangas while going up the elevator to Monthly Girls' editors office. Unfortunately, the first sight was Maeno._

 _"Nozaki, I knew you'd miss me. Give in and I'll make 'Let's Fall in Love' even more popular" Maeno said, giving away a disturbing, princely aura._

 _Nozaki shivered. "I was actually looking for Ken-san..."_

 _"Nozaki" Nozaki heard Ken-san call and his heart fluttered a little. "As a gift from the magazine for the 5th year anniversary..." he took four tickets out of his pocket and handed them to Nozaki. "This is a waterpark in Osaka. Reservations booked for the weekend and you can bring along three other people"_

 _"KEN-SAMA" Nozaki shouted overwhelmed with tears._

 _"Yeah yeah" Ken-san looked like he wanted to kill himself. He briefly took the tickets from him. "This still means that I have to give you less time for your new chapter. I need it for the Tuesday after your vacation weekend"_

 _"NO PROBLEM" Nozaki wanted to hug Ken-san, but held himself from doing so._

 _Maeno gave Miyako her tickets._

 _"Oh, I'm afraid I have group homework from college at a classmate's house" she frowned. "Nozaki-kun, you can have them"_

 ** _End flashback_**

He'd invite the usuals. It would be quite a ruckus if you asked him. Seo would get on everyone's (except the girls') nerves. Kashima, Wakamatsu and Mikoshiba would attract too many girls-- which could be good for reference, actually. Hori would be high key jealous for Kashima. Sakura would (hopefully not) get "lost" again. And Mayu... he would just sleep.

The weekend came. Plane rides were a waste of money if they were talking about three days. Taking a train seemed more logical.

Five full hours of Seo's sexy underwear talk. Wakamatsu whining. Mikoshiba fighting with the girls in his phone game. Kashima flirting with the girls behind them. Hori getting angry. Mayu well, sleeping, which was something Nozaki wished he could do among the rampage. And Sakura... well, she was reasonable, which calmed Nozaki a bit.

When they got to the hotel, they decided they'd rest for the afternoon.

"Sakura. Now's the perfect time to work on the next plot line!" Nozaki suggested.

"Oh, um" Sakura hated disappointing Nozaki but, "Actually, Yuzuki, Kashima and I wanted to go shopping" she broke a sweat.

Nozaki felt as if he were hit by the ceiling fan above him. Sakura only rejected working with him when she had art club meetings, but this?

Well, he supposed that he wasn't her only friend. Everything was fine. He did not feel betrayed at all.

"Oh, okay. Enjoy!" He put on his most concealed face.

"Thanks, Nozaki-kun!" Sakura beamed, walking out the door.

 _'Whatever. I still have Mikoshiba, Wakamatsu and Hori_ ' he thought.

"Not gonna happen, Nozaki" Hori said, making sure Mikoshiba wasn't hearing. "Not in front of Mikoshiba, remember?" He whispered.

"Hey, guys. Over here" Mikoshiba called, sitting between Mayu and Wakamatsu. "Of course I had to bring my PD3"

Hori looked relieved while Nozaki was even more stressed. This was a mini vacation, though. No one had to think about the fact that the deadline was in three days or anything.

_

The girls went to a nearby shopping outlet. It had both popular stores and kiosks.

Seo said she wanted to go to a sports gift shop.

"Oh, buying Wakamatsu-kun a present?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, he likes this basketball player" Seo answered, looking at a basketball tank shirt with a number 34 on the backside.

"You buy him a lot of presents, don't you?" Kashima wondered.

"It's to show my gratitude. He's always running errands for me"

"Um, that's probably because you force him to" Sakura replied, cringing.

"I definitely don't" Seo defended. She sure was oblivious.

"Nozaki's brother is sure the quiet type. He seems to get along with Mikoto" Kashima pointed out. She hadn't met the younger Nozaki until today.

"Yeah, he doesn't really talk unless he feels like it. He's really nice, though" Sakura replied.

"And totally gay for Mikoshiba" Seo added.

"YUZUKI!" Sakura scolded.

"What? Have you seen the way he looks at him when he's not sleeping?" Seo asked. "It's kinda creepy"

"Now that you mention it, I found it kinda strange how an introvert like Mikoto got along with an intimidating one. I think it's cute" Kashima opposed, smiling brightly. "It's a shame he doesn't stop texting that middle school girl. He could really use someone to distract him"

Sakura had to admit she agreed it was cute, but something was still... off.

Nozaki meanwhile went to the store to clear his mind. He was sorta sad that he had little time to work on the manga. He thought that maybe he'd buy ingredients to bake a cheescake. Sakura's favorite dessert.

Why was he trying to please her again? Sometimes he'd really get concerned about his thoughts when it came to her. Kashima told him it was "motherly love", and he had truly believed so at first. Lately, it came to his mind that it was a lot more, but what really?

He halted his steps when he saw three familiar faces coming out of a store.

 _'Crap. Sakura will think I was spying on her'_ he thought and hid behind a rack of bras and panties.

"Oh, that lace is pretty cute" Seo said, approaching the rack. Nozaki flinched.

"Yuzuki, come here and look at this!" Kashima called, getting Seo's attention. "Do you think Hori-senpai would like this skirt?"

Seo turned around and went to Kashima, saying something about not matching his hairstyle.

The important part was: she was gone. And Nozaki could run away without being spotted.

_

The guys were playing videogames back at the hotel. Except for Mayu, who sat on the couch. He began browsing Kobayashi's blog (full of his art), trying to come up with a new drawing for his judo teammates. He knew he was lazy, but he at least took judo seriously, unlike the others.

It was weird. Mamiko hadn't texted him yet. He was kinda missing their late night messages. He wondered what she was up to.

"Ugh, this game sucks" Hori complained.

"That's because you're always choosing the wrong answers! You're not supposed to tell her her legs are ugly!" Mikoshiba argued.

"But they are!" Hori fought back.

"And you, Wakamatsu! What's that with insulting her when she's trying to flirt with you?"

"She was rubbing her boobs over my character's elbow! That's invading my personal space" Wakamatsu defended.

"Well, they're boobs! Even Mayu knows better than that. Hey, Mayu" Mikoshiba called, looking back at the couch. "Would you rather have a girl with big boobs or a guy with toned pecs?"

"Either is fine" Mayu answered, still not looking away from his phone.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!?!" Mikoshiba shouted. Then, he noticed Mayu's distance, so he approached him. "Hey, you sure you don't wanna play?" he asked. Mayu would often go to his house and watch him play videogames. Mayu never played, but would rather look at his figurine collection and magazines for who knows what reason?

 ** _Flashback_**

 _Mayu took a very curvy female doll in his hands and carefully observed her proportions._

 _'This one would work for uke-waza' Mayu thought._

 _Mikoshiba leaned against the door frame. "You're always staring at them but you never buy for yourself" he told him._

 _"I have other motives" Mayu only answered._

 ** _End of flashback_**

Mikoshiba really wondered what those "motives" were. He sat next to him on the couch and something caught his eye.

"Oh, you follow Mayumayu too? I figured since she draws hot women in..." he stopped, looking for a way to put it, "... compromising judo positions". He peered into Mayu's phone.

Before Mayu could explain, Mikoshiba kept talking.

"You won't believe this but, I actually text Mayumayu"

Mayu was confused, he only talked to one of the blog's followers.

"It's kinda funny. I pose as a girl called 'Mamiko' so she wouldn't freak out that a weird guy is after ecchi art. Then again, this is how internet crimes happen"

Mayu just opened his eyes widely in shock. He kinda figured a week or two after taking over the blog. Whenever he went to Mikoshiba's, he wouldn't let go off of his phone, and he would receive a message right about the same time. Of course, it was too much to fully put his mind into it.

It all made so much sense now. It wasn't just a coincidence that Mamiko and Mikoshiba liked the same stuff or said the same things. Now that he thought about it, Mikoshiba had gotten very personal with him as Mamiko. All those insecurities "Mamiko" felt, belonged to Mikoshiba. 'Holy shit'

He debated whether to tell him or not, but Nozaki (Umetarou) arrived too quickly.

"I even got chocolates and strawberries for the cheesecake. She's never gonna even consider leaving my side again" Nozaki said, a little too excited.

"Uh, that's creepy, man" Mikoshiba said.

Hori agreed, "Yeah, you've been having some issues lately"

"What do you mean? I'm just eager to see Sakura working on the beta, smiling while eating what I made especially for her. I love her the most when she's happy. Even more when I'm the one that caused--" he stopped when he saw Mikoshiba, Hori, and Wakamatsu's blue faces. Mayu was still processing the Mamiko thing to even bother about his brother's love life.

"Finally, y-you..." Mikoshiba began.

"Brother, have you developed romantic feelings for Chiyo-san?" Mayu asked, trying to distract himself.

"No. I just deeply respect my assistant..." he answered. Just then, he began to fully process what he had said. "Oh no" then he started to panic. "Is this like Suzuki and Mamiko?!"

"Geez, Nozaki. It took you long enough. And don't compare your relationship with manga! Look at Sakura directly for once" Hori shouted.

"Wait, you know about his work as a mangaka?" Mikoshiba asked, confused.

"THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT!" Hori panicked.

"Have I been feeling this for a long time? How will I face her now?" Nozaki asked, combing his hair with his fingers.

"Just face her like you normally do. Confess to her when you feel ready" Mikoshiba answered.

"I... like Sakura"

"We kinda figured" they all replied at the same time.


	3. Part 3: Too much energy wasted

That night, Mayu threw himself in bed. For the first time, he couldn't sleep as easily. So Mikoshiba is Mamiko after all... putting Mamiko's personal thoughts and Mikoshiba all together just made Mayu...

Fall in love with him even more.

'Mamiko' was a great person in his opinion. Of couse, she reminded him of Mikoto-san, but it wasn't him. Or well, now he knew it was.

He didn't know when exactly he started crushing on his older friend. He just knew that he'd walk a long distance, or be willing to stay awake for longer, just to see him. He knew he was being cheesy, but he loved how happy he got when talking about his new videogames or action figures. He loved how Mikoshiba already understood him through his lack of speech. He loved how smart and funny he could be. His good intentions, his ability to help his friends. Mikoshiba was in fact amazing, but he was too self-conscious to realize it.

Having feelings for someone was too much work, but Mayu couldn't let his laziness win this time. It hurt.

As bad as Mikoshiba was with girls, he knew that he may still be attracted to them. He liked those magazines, games and everything with big boobs. There's no way he had a chance, was there?

Mayu really wanted to fall asleep and wake up without feeling this way towards him.

_

The waterpark looked quite scary in Mikoshiba's opinion.

There were water slides that seemed decent enough, aka the only ones he went for. But there were also others that were too tall and took you through a 90 degree fall.

Seo seemed to enjoy it a LOT, which was a bit psycho-like. Wakamatsu could manage as long as Seo wasn't the one pushing him.

Nozaki led Sakura by the hand again. She wasn't gonna get lost and he'd make sure of it. Sakura was too dazed to focuson the slides, and the fact that they finished on a 9-feet pool. Nozaki pulled her out by the hair to the border.

"Ow, Nozaki-kun!" That had to hurt.

"You okay?"

"I CAN SWIM, IDIOT!"

"But you usually wear floaties. And you were at the bottom of a deep pool"

"I wear them cause it's easier to float. And I was swimming back to the surface, actually!"

Nozaki was blushing?

This wasn't something Mikoshiba should've been looking at. Ignoring Nozaki and Sakura's tender staring moment that had no actual progress, he turned to look at Mayu, who happened to, of course, be sleeping on a bench.

That Mayu was really something, huh? He always found a way to boycott everything and have it the easy way. What'd he come here for if he would just be sleeping around?

He heard bickering from afar. _'It never ends'_ he mentally sighed as he looked over Hori and Kashima.

"KASHIMA! STOP TRYING TO PUT A BIKINI ON ME" Hori yelled.

"But you'd look so pretty" Kashima pouted. She was stopped when two girls grabbed either of her arms.

"Hello, handsome. Wanna go down the slide with me?" One of them, with long, brown hair asked.

"Yeah, I get really scared on that one. I want you to hold me" the other one, with short, black hair said. She clung closer to Kashima.

 _"~Of course, princesses. Worry not, for I'll hold you during the ride~"_

"KASHIMA THIS ISN'T THE TIME TO BE FLIRTING!" Hori yelled once again.

"But senpai, we're not at school. I'm not skipping drama club so I'm free to do as I please. I can't leave these two, beautiful ladies alone"

Hori, taking the point, left angrily to buy some ice cream. Or get it for free since the girl selling them seemed quite smitten with him.

 _'Ouch'_ Mikoshiba thought. Hori sure got jealous pretty easily.

"Hey, look at that guy over there. He looks like he's being tortured by his girlfriend" a girl whispered to her friend.

"Yeah, it's sad. He's so hot, frowns make him look pitiful" the other girl replied.

Mikoshiba noted that they were in fact talking about Seo and Wakamatsu.

"We should totally go save him. This seems like abuse" the girl said and her friend agreed.

 _'Is everyone getting romantic luck today? Ugh, whatever. Not like I care'_ Mikoshiba mentally complained, then he looked at Mayu again, who was still sleeping a few feet away from him. ' _That's right. Mayu is also a hopeless romantic. That or he doesn't care'_

His thoughts fell to hell when a girl approached Mayu. She was a typical bishoujo. Big, sparkly eyes. Mayu woke up in time to see her standing close to him.

"Hi, um. Are you alone?" She asked shyly, but Mikoshiba noticed a weird, hungry look in her eyes.

Mayu didn't feel like talking, so he tried to go back to sleep.

Another two girls appeared.

"Wow, you're tall"

"And very muscular"

Something ticked in Mikoshiba's being.

"Back off, he's only fifteen" Mikoshiba approached them, grabbing Mayu's wrist.

"Oh, that's okay. I'm 14" one of the girls said.

"WELL, IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Mikoshiba shouted a bit too loud, which surprised both him and Mayu. "Mayu, c'mon. We're going to the pool" he pulled Mayu by the wrist again and dragged him away.

"But I wanna sleep" Mayu complained. Although he was sleepy, he felt sudden dizziness at Mikoshiba holding his hand.

"You didn't come here to sleep, lazy ass"

Mayu groaned.

"STOP COMPLAINING, IDIOT. AND PUT ON A SHIRT!"

"But we're going to the pool. I can't wear a shirt" Mayu said. He was very confused.

"Ugh, whatever. We're out of their sight" Mikoshiba surrendered, releasing Mayu's hand, to the latter's dismay.

"Is it because of Yuu-san, Wakamatsu-senpai and I? Did you want to get female attention today?" Mayu asked.

Mikoshiba became flustered, "W-what? Stop accusing me of such things. It's not like I felt lonely because Nozaki and Sakura seemed just fine, or because Kashima looks good in a Hawaiian shirt, or because Hori got free ice cream from that cute vendor, or because you and Wakamatsu draw attention when shirtless, that's not... I mean"

Mayu stared at him intently. Of course, it was all about lack of flattery. Of course Mikoshiba expected girls to hit on him, even if he'd get embarrassed in the end. All hopes of Mikoshiba being jealous and protective of Mayu in a romantic way were shattered.

"Mikoto-san..."

"Oh, no. Don't look at me like that" when he did, he knew Mayu was looking for a way to enter his soul, and he always did.

"You can't expect others to praise you, when you don't even like yourself" Mayu simply said, not tearing his sight away from him.

"Th-this isn't... this isn't about that..." Mikoshiba replied softly. Yeah, it was totally about that. How did Mayu read him so well? It was not long ago that he couldn't make Mayu read his mind when he wanted to hide his otaku collection from Wakamatsu. Now? What kind of progress has been carved into Mayu's sense of reason?

Mayu stayed silent. It was best not to push it, but he already knew that he was right.

Mayu rolled his eyes in exhaustion, "So, what ride do you wanna go to?" He asked.

Mikoshiba looked around him. "I think I wanna go back to the hotel and just play games"

Mayu smiled and nodded. That was the real Mikoshiba.

This was one of the few times Mikoshiba had seen Mayu smile. He didn't admit it to himself, but he enjoyed seeing him like that.

_

"Mayu, if you want me to feed you, at least open your mouth" Mikoshiba retorted, holding chopsticks with rice close to Mayu's lips.

Mayu rested his head against his palm in boredom. He hadn't eaten in all day, which Mikoshiba was concerned about since the poor boy could faint. Every athlete had to eat well, right?

Mayu had no choice but to open his mouth and eat slowly, closing his eyes while chewing. His bangs fell over his long eyelashes. Mikoshiba swore they would tangle.

It was breathtaking. It didn't help that he was wearing that bunny ears parka. He was...

"Mikoto-san, my mouth's been open for two whole minutes" Mayu interrupted Mikoshiba's thoughts, thankfully.

Mikoshiba's face turned completely red. "FEED YOURSELF THEN!" he angrily banged the rice bowl and chopsticks against the table, startling Mayu.

"Did I... make you mad?" Mayu asked. His features were relaxed, but his voice trembled a little, Mikoshiba noticed.

He calmed down a bit and sighed. "I'm not mad at you, I just... need some fresh air" he walked out to the porch.

Mayu was confused, but he decided to finish his bowl and go to sleep afterwards.

On the balcony, Mikoshiba leaned against the fence and rested his elbows. The breeze was chilly today, but that wasn't the point.

"What the hell is happening to me?"


	4. Part 4: Something's fishy

It had been two weeks since the waterpark trip. The gang was back to school.

Class? What class? Mikoshiba somehow managed to master the art of hiding his phone from the teacher.

Kashima was worried. Since she sat beside him, she noticed his peculiar behavior ever since he started texting that Mayumayu a few months ago.

Her best friend wouldn't give her details about her. She only knew that Mayumayu was a middle school student and that was about it. Something about this whole situation made her feel like there was something off.

"Code red" Kashima whispered, looking away from Mikorin to play it off.

The teacher walked past them, it was his way of giving the class. He liked walking around, making sure to get every student's attention.

Luckily, Mikoshiba hid his phone on time. He thanked Kashima so much for it. When the teacher was out of sight, Mikoshiba pulled out his phone again and began texting.

[ **From: Mayumayu** ]

 ** _Won't u get in trouble?_**

[ **To: Mayumayu** ]

 ** _Dw bout it. Talking to you makes me at ease._**

 ** _Distracts me from this boring history class._**

[ **From: Mayumayu** ]

 ** _There's somethng i wanna tell u_**. **_I_** ** _dont think you'll like it_**

On the other side of the line, Mayu was sitting on a bench in the dojo. He sighed. No, he couldn't tell him through text. Not only was the conversation going well, but wouldn't that be a cruel revelation?

If he told him, would Mikoshiba hate him? Even if he said otherwise, he seemed kinda mad that day at the hotel. It's been weeks and they haven't really seen each other.

He was very sure Mikoshiba had a thing for Mayumayu, for the fact that he thought he was a girl. He would be so disappointed.

Why couldn't Mikoshiba look at him? It was selfish to think about it, but it was gonna hurt a lot in the end for both of them, wasn't it?

Gosh, texting was so exhausting. Sometimes he'd be glad when the phone ran out of battery so he would be forced to rest. He had to give 'Mamiko' some credit. Thanks to 'her', his motivation evolved.

Kobayashi sat next to him, drinking water.

"Oh, you still talk to that Mamiko chick? Funny 'cause even if you're sketching longer messages and are always on the phone now, you won't answer any other texts" he said.

Mayu looked at him as if to ask 'just who else is texting me again?'

"Well, me for example. I asked for you to bring back my backpack..." Kobayashi answered.

"I left it underneath your desk" Mayu replied.

"Yeah, lucky shot" Kobayashi said sarcastically.

"Do you know how hard it was for me to go downstairs, find your elective's classroom since it's the last one, and go upstairs again?" Mayu asked with a deadly look.

"Geez, give me a break. You're only lazy when you want to" Kobayashi nagged. "Oh, and there's also Yuko-chan. Real cutie. Word has spread that she texted you asking about a math excercise only you got correctly. You wouldn't answer so she was anxious all afternoon" he added.

"She could've asked me earlier"

"You were sleeping the whole day yesterday! Besides, I think she's just looking for an excuse to talk to you" he teased.

Mayu stayed silent and looked at his phone.

"You gonna tell her the truth? About you being a dude?" Kobayashi asked, to which Mayu answered shrugging.

Thinking about a solution was so much work. This was Mikoshiba he was talking about, though.

[ **From** **: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _Don't scare me_**. **_I_** ** _can take it. If ur feeling uncomfortable with me, I understand._**

 _'Damn it, Mikoto-san. Why do you make things so hard for me?'_ Mayu thought frustratedly. He was hardly lucky that they were only texting through the blog. 'Mamiko' had once asked for his phone number, and Mayu lied, saying he didn't have one.

[ **To: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _Oh_**

 ** _It's just that I lost a judo match :(_**

"Nice lie" Kobayashi snickered.

Mayu glared at him, and his friend by this understood that he couldn't meddle.

"Yo, it's thanks to me you were even able to talk to her" Kobayashi scoffed.

' _And after a while I found out that it was all innecessary. Since I was talking to him in real life'_ Mayu thought.

[ **From: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _WHAT?!?!_** **_No way_**

 ** _U know? I have this friend who also likes judo. He seems to be a fan of ur blog too!_**

 ** _I don't know how this helps, but maybe I can ask him for tips and tell you about them_**

Mikoshiba was just too nice. Mayu began blushing. Nothing he said was really special, but man, did he go lengths to help Mayumayu.

[ **To: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _I would love that :3_**

Mikoshiba on his part squealed. This would definitely help him win over Mayumayu. He needed Mayu's help this time.

_

Sakura was daydreaming during lunchtime as always. Call her crazy, but Nozaki was really protective of her in the waterpark. In all truth, he's been like that since their hand-holding in the last class trip.

 ** _Flashback_**

 _"Sakura, I made you this cheesecake"_

 _"Huh? Why?" she asked. Once she laid eyes on the dessert, every reason for it disappeared from her mind._

 _"I just wanted to thank you for the hard work"_

 _'Of course...' she sarcastically thought._

 _"I was really scared when you almost drowned today" he admitted._

 _"I WAS NEVER DROWNING"_

 _"Still..."_

 _ **End of flashback** _

Sakura sighed. Was her relationship with Nozaki taking progress?

"Sakura" Nozaki called out to her.

"YES?" she unexpectedly shouted. She was a bit surprised since she was just thinking about him.

"Have you noticed something weird with Mikoshiba?" He asked.

"You mean his every day?" She joked.

"No, but like, he barely listens to me anymore. He's always on the phone! Mayu's been like that too for a while"

"Are they texting each other by any chance?"

"Mayu didn't say who he was texting. Mikoshiba on the other hand said he was still texting that Mayumayu gal from that ecchi blog. He says that she's literally Mayu, but female" Nozaki answered.

 _'Mayumayu...'_ Sakura thought. "I don't know, Nozaki-kun. Doesn't that sound a bit suspicious to you?"

"What do you mean? Well, whatever it is, it can help me with the next issue..." he said, losing his focus on the subject and proceeding to take notes.

Sakura shook her head. She had some detective work to do.

_

"Mikorin" Sakura called, waving her hand in front of Mikoshiba. He wouldn't listen and began laughing instead, instantly replying to whoever he was texting.

"Mikoto" now Kashima called and smacked his head. The school bell rang long ago, and Kashima failed to snap him out of it, so she summoned Sakura to help her.

"Huh? What? Sakura, why aren't you in your class?" Mikoshiba asked.

"It's almost 5" Sakura answered. "We have to go"

"Go where?" Kashima asked. Shit, they forgot she was there.

"Oh, um. Sakura wants me to pose again for art club" Mikoshiba lied.

"Yeah, yeah. I need his help with uh, flowers. Bye" Sakura added, grabbing Mikoshiba's wrist and running away, leaving a confused Kashima behind.

"Oh, that reminds me. I better keep hiding from the club to get senpai's attention" Kashima beamed.

_

As much as Mayu enjoyed going to his brother's apartment, he knew he had to avoid getting his phone near Mikoshiba's sight. He'd be lying if he didn't say he was a bit anxious that he was coming, considering Mikoshiba had an outburst at him.

He was just getting out of the shower when Mikoshiba and Sakura went into the apartment.

"Oi, Mayu" Mikoshiba greeted. "Did you bring me the bunny, cosmic Arsenica figurine you borrowed before we left to Osaka?"

 _'Huh? He seemed normal. Not angry at all'_ Mayu thought. "Collection room" he answered. Referring to the room Mikoshiba kept Wakamatsu away from.

"Thanks, man" Mikoshiba replied, taking a seat by the table. Sakura followed.

Yeah, after all, Mikoshiba would tell Mayumayu if there was something wrong... right?

"Nii-san is buying rice. Left you two work for beta and effects" Mayu said, throwing himself on the couch to hopefully get some sleep. That's until he felt his phone vibrating and chiming next to him.

"MIKORIN! Add accents. Stop using your phone and work" Sakura scolded.

"Sorry! But I can't leave Mayumayu hanging. I wonder what she's doing right now" he said, sending three more texts. Talk about desperate.

Mayu's phone began to chime again. _'Damn it. Where is it?'_ he cursed under his breath. It appeared it was stuck under the cushions of the sofa. It was pretty hard to reach.

"Mayu, isn't that your phone? You should reply to whoever's texting" Mikoshiba absentmindedly said.

Sakura frowned dubiously. Was that a coincidence?

Mayu seemed pretty alarmed until he finally found his phone and put it on mute. Phew, Mikoshiba didn't seem to notice, but at least he went to draw flowers on the sketches.

Sakura looked back and forth between Mayu and Mikoshiba.

"Mayu-kun, can you help me reach the top shelf on the kitchen?" She asked. "Nozaki-kun keeps my favorite cereal there"

"Tell Mikoto-san to do it" Mayu mumbled, trying to go back to sleep.

"Kitchen. _Now!_ " She growled.


	5. Part 5: Chaos

Mayu was scared. His brother once told him that when Sakura got serious, she could somehow find the secrets of the universe with just a stare.

"So" she began, once they were in the kitchen and made sure Mikoshiba wasn't overhearing. "Anything you wanna say? Mayumayu"

"It was pretty obvious, wasn't it?" Mayu asked. His face was calm, but something about his eyes changed. She knew he was probably panicking on the inside.

"Don't worry, I only found out today" she said.

"I... don't know how to tell him"

"Why are you doing this on first place?" Sakura asked. "You know, I think he's smitten for the person he thinks he's talking to. If you lead him on, who's gonna help him recover?"

"Don't you think I know that?" Mayu said, a little louder than his usual tone, which was surprising. "I only found out about this two weeks ago. I know it's wrong..." _'...but I get to know him more as Mayumayu than in real life'_ he finished in his mind.

"He'll be more disappointed if he finds out by himself and the fact that you knew all along" Sakura said.

Mayu just nodded and reached out for the top drawer on the kitchen, taking the cereal box out. "It'd be suspiscious if we came out without the cereal"

"I'm home" Nozaki called, taking off his shoes at the entrance.

"Hurray. Nozaki, bathroom" Sakura said. She took his hand and dragged him, not even letting him put his shopping bag away.

"Sakura, what--"

"I'll explain" she said and they disappeared.

Mikoshiba had a disgusted look on his face, "Geez, I know they're getting closer and all, but they shouldn't openly announce that they're going to the bathroom"

[ **Meanwhile in the bathroom** ]

"WHAT?! That's impossible" Nozaki shouted.

"Lower your voice, we don't want Mikorin to hear"

"But are you sure?"

"I'm telling you, right before you got back, I was talking to Mayu-kun" Sakura informed.

Nozaki took a deep breath. "Well, it was about time someone inspired me to write Suzuki's relationship with Mamiko..."

"IS THAT ALL YOU EVER THINK ABOUT?!?!"

[ **Back in the living room** ]

"Mikoto-san..."

"Yeah?" Mikoshiba asked, staring off to space. 'Strange. Mayumayu is usually a fast replier'

"There's something I wanna tell you"

"Yeah?" Mikoshiba asked again, still not really paying attention.

[ **Bathroom** ]

"Shh. He's gonna tell him" Sakura whispered, sticking her ear to the door.

"Move aside, I wanna hear too" Nozaki said, crouching and leaning onto the door as well.

[ **Living room** ]

"There's..." he began, "a judo tournament next week" he said instead.

"OKAY, _WHAT_?!?!" Nozaki and Sakura shouted, getting out of the bathroom. Mayu and Mikoshiba hadn't seemed to notice their presence yet, though.

"They're finals. We're against a junior high from this city. If my team wins, I'll definitely get Nakamura-sensei's, from Roman High, attention. So, even if I don't pass the entrance exams, I can get in. I want you to come watch it" Mayu explained. His head felt dizzy. Not only was that not what he wanted to say, but he felt like he talked too much.

"What do you mean 'if I don't pass the entrance exams'? You're obviously gonna pass them, because you are going to study for them" Mikoshiba reassured, grinning. "Of course I'll go watch the tournament. Now that I think about it, I've never seen you fight for real, this'll be interesting"

Mayu's chest felt warm. Mikoshiba sure had a talent for motivating him. He nodded.

Sakura was done, so was Nozaki. She threw Mayu a glare that clearly said 'You better tell him after the match'

_

When Mikoshiba got home, he began receiving text messages.

[ **From: Mayumayu** ]

 ** _Hey, sorry for the delay!_**

Mikoshiba smiled.

[ **To: Mayumayu** ]

 ** _I get u must be very busy. Studying and training hard?_**

[ **From: Mayumayu** ]

 ** _Meh_**

 ** _One can try xD_**

[ **To: Mayumayu** ]

 ** _U should rly movitate yourself more!_**

 ** _U don't wanna end up a loser like me when u get into high school._**

 ** _I'm not very good at classes, except for biology and english._**

 ** _I take music as an elective but I only did it to run away from sports and art._** **_Well, I can sing and play the piano a little, but I'm not that good._** **_I can only draw flowers._**

 ** _Lame, huh?_**

[ **From: Mayumayu** ]

 ** _NEVER say that about yourself._**

 ** _You're amazing._**

 ** _I look up to you. I really do._**

Mayu on the other side went insane. He felt a needle in the heart whenever Mikoshiba looked down on himself. It made him want to reveal as his real self and tell him all of the things he wants to say.

Except that Mikoshiba wouldn't enjoy it as much coming from him as he would if it were Mayumayu.

[ **From: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _Oh rly?_** **_Name one thing_**

 _'Oh, I can name a lot'_ Mayu thought.

[ **To: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _You care a lot about those who are close to you, and even if it embarrasses you, you show it without hesitation when they're in need._**

 _'You're also amusing to watch when you're being a terrible liar. You're always throwing me under the bridge when it comes to hiding your otaku decorations, but I don't mind. You get concerned when your mom suddenly becomes clumsy, making her misplace stuff. You have a beautiful smile and...'_ Mayu flushed at his thoughts, but he came to realize something.

 _'You may hide, run away for a long time, but you're also forgiving and don't hold a grudge'._

He obviously wasn't gonna tell him all this.

[ **From: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _How can you possibly know that? :0_**

[ **To: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _Girl's intuition ;)_**

Mayu groaned. _'Why the hell did I say that?'_

_

Hori sighed in dispair. Kashima was nowhere to be found today. He tried chasing her around to get her to attend an important club meeting.

 _'Stupid Kashima. Only a few months until I graduate and this is how she treats me?'_ He thought.

"Hey, Hori-senpai" Nozaki appeared.

"Yo" Hori replied unfocused.

"Not to boast, but the latest issue was a success!" Nozaki exclaimed. Hori knew that he said it because he worked on it by himself. He might have gotten inspiration from Mayu and Mikoshiba.

 **In the manga:**

 _Suzuki was practically shining under the sun. Of course, Suzuki draws attention wherever he goes._

 _Girls started surrounding him while Mamiko pouted in a corner, obviously jealous._

 _"Mamiko! This isn't what it looks like" Suzuki tried to get out of the desperate hormonal circle._

 _Mamiko only rolled her eyes and grabbed Suzuki's wrist, dragging him away._

 _"Hey, don't be mad at me!"_

 _"Next time... put on a shirt" Mamiko demanded, blushing._

 _"Who wears a shirt to the pool?"_

 _Mamiko angrily turned to face him, "JUST DO SO!"_

Nozaki was proud. He had wonderful people that inspired his every day.

"If you're looking for Kashima, she went out to eat ice cream with Mikoshiba"

"That bitch..." Hori muttered. "Ugh, whatever. She never invites me for ice cream" he complained.

_

"Okay, guys. Meeting's over. Keep up the good work" Hori ended the club meeting, cleaning the scenario. "Remember, the play's in a month. It's important you come to every rehearsal"

"Yeah, tell that to Kashima" one of the boys said.

"A president can try" Hori sighed.

Walking out the school, he began thinking about the play. _'That idiot. Why do I keep making her the lead?'_

He stopped in his tracks when Kashima appeared in front of him.

"Senpai? Is the meeting over?"

"Like you would care" he responded and kept walking.

"I brought you ice cream. Hopefully it hasn't melted yet"

He stopped again and turned around. "Why do you keep doing this?"

"What do you mean?"

"You used to be passionate about being in the club and I felt like a great upperclassman, you know?" Hori answered.

"Do you really want to know why I skip out on club activities?" Kashima asked. "I'm doing it so they have no other choice but to put you on the lead"

"What are you--"

"Don't get me wrong, Hori-senpai. I love having a role, especially since you're the one that chooses it for me. But even if you insist that you like backstage more, I think that you deserve to be in a play before you graduate"

"Kashima..." for a second you'd be fooled. "You IDIOT!"

Kashima was smacked in the head, which made her awkwardly laugh. She was such a masochist.

"If you wanted me to be in the play you should've said so instead of making me chase you around like a maniac"

"But you chasing me around is the highlight of my day, actually" Kashima said, putting puppy dog eyes.

Just when Hori wanted to smack her again, he ended up putting his hand on her head and messed her hair.

He smiled at her. "So, I'll be the princess then? Make me a pretty one"


	6. Part 6: Tournament

Mayu was usually confident when it came to the judo tournaments. This time, when he spotted Nakamura-sensei, he thought for a second he was gonna faint.

"Captain, you're surprisingly jumpy today" one of his teammates said.

Mayu just glared at him. He didn't need to be reminded how nervous he was feeling.

"Okay, listen up. You know the plan. Every one knows that our team goes mostly for grappling, if anything goes wrong, we still have Nozaki" their sensei, who seemed aloof and somewhat clumsy, instructed.

Mayu did not feel any better hearing this.

"Don't worry, you're only up against that fella over there" the sensei pointed to a huge guy that seemed about 300 pounds.

"WHAT?!" everyone shouted in fear.

"Is he even in Maa-kun's weight class?" Kobayashi asked.

"Oh, yeah. He seems big but he only weighs a few kilograms more than him. He'll be fine"

Mayu sighed. He could do this. He had to think of the goal. Nakamura-sensei was in the audience... but Mikoshiba wasn't.

_

The alarm clock went off four times that morning. Mikoshiba only heard it the fifth time. And he might have had a little help from his cat, Noa, jumping in his face.

"THE COMPETITION!" he jolted awake, sending his cat flying. He was all night talking to Mayumayu. She had a competition today as well, and even though she wasn't that nervous, she couldn't help but being excited.

Her and Mayu were so alike. Sadly, Mayu's was a male's tournament. Mayumayu couldn't possibly be there out of chance.

He checked his clock.

"9:45?!?" The matches began at 10. He was dead late.

_

Mayu had no time to think about him right now. Whether he came or not, he was gonna make sure to win this.

Some of his teammates really had it hard. Grappling didn't work most of the time. He knew he should've drawn more provocative poses.

"Nozaki, so far it's a tie. Kobayashi might win this one if he scores another half-point" his sensei told him.

 _'Nakamura seems quite amused'_ Mayu thought. Kobayashi had good defensive techniques, but so did his opponent. The opponent tended to break his balance, which immediately changed Kobayashi's strategy.

Kobayashi was in pain, Mayu noticed. His opponent was only a bit taller than him, but he liked body-striking. Luckily, Kobayashi memorized his attack patterns and blocked the other guy, taking full advantage and grabbed him, throwing him to the floor.

"Maa-kun, did you see what I did there?" Kobayashi ran to Mayu happily.

Mayu grinned and nodded. Kobayashi understood that by this he meant 'Good job'.

"It's your turn now. You got this" he reassured.

"You can do this, cap" his team cheered.

Mayu heaved as he saw his giant opponent. _'Was this really a middle schooler?'_

"I hope I made it on time" Mikoshiba hoped, taking a seat in the bleachers. "Mayu would be so disappointed. I'd be the worst senpai ever. Oh, that's Kobayashi, isn't it?"

He spotted Kobayashi on his last moves before beating his opponent.

"Wow, he's good" he said.

Kobayashi went to his team, which was congratulating him. Then they seemed to be rooting for Mayu, whose face was as normal as always, but shoulders looked tense. Afterwards, Mikoshiba understood why.

"The fuck? He's _huge_!" He shouted, referring to the guy that was probably gonna try to shred Mayu in pieces. He earned strange looks from the ones sitting around him at his yell.

Apparently, it was loud enough for Mayu to turn around to follow the voice. He saw Mikoshiba giving him a thumbs-up, which made him relax.

The match had barely started when the huge guy was already launching himself at Mayu. Mayu easily blocked, but the opponent was strong, whose name apparently was Hiroshi.

Hiroshi was good. His attacks were quick, almost scoring him a full point until Mayu released from his grasp.

Mayu, though, was graceful in his moves. He combined arms and legs movements, sometimes he would attack, sometimes he wouldn't. He was very unpredictable, which confused Hiroshi.

Mayu had a deadly look in his eyes. It was not only serious, but intimidating.

 _'C'mon, Mayu. You can do this'_ Mikoshiba prayed.

Hiroshi began pushing Mayu, the latter was good at resisting. Just when Mayu almost lost his balance, he noticed that Hiroshi's feet were not positioned well enough to keep him holding. This was it.

With all the strength left, Mayu pushed Hiroshi a little and grabbed him with one hand over his knees, and the other under his right arm, lifting and throwing him backwards.

Mayu kept holding his opponent on the floor until 25 seconds were marked, earning Mayu a full point, automatically ending the match.

The referee raised his arm, meaning Mayu's team had won the whole tournament.

Mikoshiba got up from his seat and began cheering. He put both of his hands around his mouth, simulating a megaphone. "WHOOOOOO! THAT'S MY KOUHAI THERE!"

Mayu was overwhelmed. His crush had been cheering for him and his younger teammates were telling him he would be missed once he got into high school.

Mikoshiba quickly ran down the stairs in the bleachers, to see a girl with long hair tied up in a ponytail approach Mayu.

"N-Nozaki-kun" the girl called.

Mikoshiba's eye twitched. 'Why did this situation seem so familiar?'

"Ichino-san" Mayu just said.

"I just wanted to say..." she began.

Mikoshiba couldn't hear the rest over the crowd in the gym, but the girl seemed to nod sadly and smile. After that, she left.

 _'Did he just?'_ Mikoshiba thought. He wanted to approach him again, but an older man came to him.

"Nozaki Mayu, right? Nakamura-sensei from Roman High. Nice to meet you" and Mayu instantly bowed.

"Indeed. Nice to meet you"

"I gotta say, you have some skills for your age. What high school are you planning on going to?" Nakamura asked.

"Roman High, actually" he couldn't tell him he wanted to get his eye. He'd sound desperate.

"Ah, you must be Nozaki Umetarou's brother then?"

Mayu nodded.

"He's not bad. Not as passionate in the sport as you. It is just an elective for him after all" he explained. "I hope to see you in April then. Keep up the practice"

"Thank you, sir" Mayu bowed again, and Nakamura left.

Finally, Mikoshiba ran to Mayu before anyone else did. "Mayu!"

Mayu turned around to see Mikoshiba beaming at him.

"Mikoto-san. You came after all"

"Are you kidding? I couldn't miss this. It was important to you and let me say: you are amazing. The tension was unexplainable..." again, Mikoshiba kept talking and Mayu just stared at him. He wasn't one for flattery himself, but he liked that it came from Mikoshiba.

"Anyways, come on. I'm treating you to taiyaki"

Mayu had a blank face at him and looked at his own outfit.

"Oh, of course. Go change first"

Mayu nodded and went to the lockers, where his teammates were also changing.

"Dude, is it true that you rejected Yuko-chan?!" Kobayashi stormed into the room.

Mayu just shrugged.

"Is it because of Mamiko? Dude, you don't know her"

Mayu ignored him and began changing.

Kobayashi sighed and saw Mikoshiba outside the room, probably waiting for Mayu. Then something clicked.

"Wait..." he said, still not getting Mayu to look at him. "Wait" he said a little louder this time. "It's Mikoshiba-senpai, isn't it?"

Mayu stopped putting on his pants and looked at him. Now everyone in the room was staring at Mayu.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Kobayashi was actually smirking. "Not what I expected, but..."

Mayu rolled his eyes and walked out, seeing Mikoshiba on his phone.

"Ready to go?" he asked, to which Mayu nodded, and they left.


	7. Part 7: Yikes

Seo and Wakamatsu were walking downtown. Well, Wakamatsu was dragged by Seo while he carried her shopping bags.

"I could use a little help, y'know"

"I'm already paying for everything, thank you" Seo shot.

"Hey, aren't those Mayu and Mikoshiba-senpai?" Wakamatsu asked, looking at the two figures going into the sweets shop.

Seo scrunched her eyes suspiciously. 'This ought to be fun' she chuckled evily. "Come on, Waka. I'm in the mood for sweet tea"

"You mean gossip tea" Wakamatsu corrected, disappointed.

"Pfft hehe"

"Spying is wrong"

"Shut up and hurry" Seo demanded. Wakamatsu had no other choice but to follow.

_

 _'You better tell him after the competition'_ was what Sakura's glare told him. This was the perfect chance. It was just the two of them.

"Why did your parents name you similar to your last name? Did they hate you?" Mayu asked instead. Damn, he had never being this sissy before.

Seo snorted behind the menu book. "Man, this kid is priceless"

"Seo-senpai, be quiet" Wakamatsu hushed. They were sitting behind some bookshelves the shop had for decoration, so they were pretty blocked from Mikoshiba and Mayu's sight. Only that Seo's voice could give away.

The other two didn't seem to have seen them, so they continued on their conversation.

"Well, long story short..."

 _ **Flashback**_

 _A redhaired woman was carrying a crying baby in the hospital bed. A nervous father was also crying._

 _"Honey, could you fill out the registration form? I'm a little busy here" the woman asked._

 _"S-sure"_

 _His hand was shaking and his vision was blurry. It was just his bad luck that he had to write it in romaji, rather than kanji characters. When he wrote the first letters of the last name, he noticed that he wrote them on the first name blank. So, instead of asking for another paper, he added "-to" to "Miko-". And well, both his first and last name began alike._

 _ **End of flashback**_

"And so, yeah. My dad's... special" Mikoshiba finished.

"That's actually a funny story" Seo told Wakamatsu. He glared at her as if to say 'please shut up'.

"I've been meaning to ask..." Mikoshiba began, not daring to look at Mayu, so he glanced sideways. "There was a girl you rejected back there, right?"

Mikoshiba knew the answer, he just wanted to hear Mayu's point of view. Maybe the kid was as oblivious as his older brother and mistook the confession for something else.

"Yeah" Mayu answered.

"Why? She seemed pretty nice"

"There's someone I like already" Mayu was... blushing?

It was the first time Mikoshiba saw him blush. It wasn't the first time he had done so, though.

"Is that so?" Mikoshiba teased and smirked. "You sneaky brat. Who is it?"

Mayu stayed quiet for a while. It's not that he was shy to tell him. Au contraire. But he knew that two little birds were in the café as well. One of them seemed to live for drama.

"So, you're not gonna tell me..." Mikoshiba seemed sad. Mayu hated to see him like this. "It's cool. It's the first time you've liked someone, huh?"

Mayu nodded, but Mikoshiba still wasn't satisfied.

"I like you" Mayu confessed.

Wakamatsu choked on his drink and began coughing.

"Shut up, Waka! And I'm the noisy one"

"You--you what?" Mikoshiba almost fell back on his chair.

"I like you, Mikoto-san. A lot"

As much as Mikoshiba hated to admit it, he knew Mayu wasn't joking. Not when he stared at him directly like that.

Mikoshiba looked away. He didn't even know what to feel. Yeah, he was flattered. Mayu was a great person. He was clever. He listened to you when you needed it the most. He was the captain of a sports team without even being active most of the day. He was kind and very handsome, in fact.

But was Mikoshiba ready to admit to himself that he was into guys?

 _'No. Not guys in general. Just Mayu...'_ Mikoshiba thought.

"Sorry..." he said instead. He needed some time to think about it. But before he could react and look at him, Mayu had already gotten up from his seat with a plain look on his face and walked out the door.

Next thing Mikoshiba knew, he had gotten on his feet and went after him. "Wait, Mayu" he called. When he walked out the door, Mayu was nowhere to be seen.

"Seo-senpai, did you know this was gonna happen?" Wakamatsu asked.

"Not exactly how I pictured it, but I knew there was something going on" she answered, but she seemed kinda spaced out. "I gotta tell Chiyo"

"But then she'll tell Nozaki-senpai! I don't want him to hate Mikoshiba-senpai"

"Well, duh, she'll tell him. But I also know her enough to know she'll meddle and create a plan to fix this mess"

"Wow, Seo-senpai. You're actually concerned about them?"

"I'm a very nice person, I'll have you know" she bragged. "Besides, our circle of friends is so lame. We're like the only ones dating when the others are obviously hitting on each other too"

"Wait, since when are we--"

"Hush, Chiyo just answered" she interrupted his doubts and picked up the phone. "Yeah we've got some shit to tell ya"

_

Things were just going downhill. He was confused. Mayu wasn't the type to run away from things, so why didn't he let him talk?

Mikoshiba threw himself in bed and stared at the ceiling. He needed someone to talk to. He would usually go to Mayu, but that was out of the question. Then there was Sakura, who would probably tell Nozaki... who would sit Mayu down to interview him and use it for manga reference. Kashima, well, she is his best friend. She'd probably just misunderstand or get dragged away by Hori.

He had no choice but to text Mayumayu. Wouldn't she get the wrong idea, though? He doesn't want her to think he likes Mayu... does he?

He took out his phone and opened the blog. She had uploaded new drawings the other days. She was truly talented.

He went to the blog's messenger and typed.

[ **To: Mayumayu** ]

 ** _Hey_**

He waited a while for her to answer.

Mayu didn't feel like eating. He just wanted to get some sleep.

He should've just kissed him there and then. Maybe help him reconsider?

He was frustrated with himself. He always went for what he wanted. He would've gone for it, tackled him or confess over and over again until it got to Mikoshiba. But he wasn't ready to hear those heartbreaking words. And he still had not told him about the Mayumayu thing.

 _'How did I become a pussy like him?'_

Someone knocked on the door and opened it.

"Mayu-kun, Mom really wants you to eat" Yumeko said.

"Not hungry"

Yumeko frowned. Something was wrong, and she was gonna get to the bottom of it.

"You did win the competition, right?" Yumeko asked, sitting on the foot of her brother's bed.

"The medal's there"

"Then what's wrong?"

"You'll understand when you're older"

"I'm only a year your junior" Yumeko stated. This wasn't getting anywhere.

"I want some time alone"

"You're always isolated" Yumeko muttered. Giving up, she stood up and headed out the door, "I'll just tell Mom you're sleeping. I'll save your food in a bento box and put it on the fridge". She looked at him sadly one last time before leaving and closing the door.

Mayu sighed. He felt bad, he really did. Yumeko had been equally affected when Umetarou moved. Mayu was the only one she could count on with teenager issues when their older brother wasn't there.

He just didn't feel like talking about his love problems to her. To anyone, really. Umetarou wasn't an option either. He'd turn it into another good-selling volume for all he knew.

His phone beeped. Of course, it was the person he wanted to see the most, but was it still fair to talk to him as Mayumayu?

[ **From: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _Hey_**

Should he answer?

[ **To: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _Hi_**

 ** _How are you?_**

And he did. Temptation was a handy. He shouldn't have asked him how he was doing. Either he'd lie about being fine, or tell him the truth about not being fine, which would lead to explaining why.

He didn't want to know.

[ **From: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _Idk..._**

Someone that I consider one of my best friends confessed to me.

And there it was. Mayu sure was curious to know further, but all of this felt wrong.

[ **To: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _How do you feel about them?_**

Mayu's heartbeat increased. He already heard the Mikoshiba's "Sorry". Did he want to indirectly get rejected again?

[ **From: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _Tbh_**

 ** _I'm not sure myself_**

 ** _It's complicated_**

 ** _I've never been in love before_**

Did this mean Mayu had a slight chance?

No. Getting his hopes up would be too much work.

[ **To: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _Give yourself some time to find out._**

 ** _Who knows? They might be still waiting for you_**

[ **From: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _Thanks. I knew I could count on you!_**

[ **To: Mamiko-san** ]

 ** _I'll always be here_**

And Mayu somehow felt a little better. He could finally get some sleep after so long.


	8. Part 8: Another one bites the dust

Hori was exhausted. He threw his hand over his forhead while he lied down in Nozaki's couch. His other arm dangled from his side, almost touching the floor.

Nozaki seemed to be taking notes while Hori ranted.

"And I dunno, man. I'm glad Kashima and I get to act in a play together, but she keeps interrupting her lines whenever a girl shows up to worship her. It's driving me nuts!"

"Uh huh... tell me more" Nozaki said. One would think he was being a psychologist giving advice, but he was in fact, drawing a whole page of Mamiko and her friends complaining about their boyfriends.

"Nozaki-kun, we need to talk!" Sakura slammed the door open and busted into the apartment.

"Not now, Sakura. This is important"

"Oh, wait till you hear this. Bathroom" she said and left to the bathroom.

"Oh no. Whenever she summons me to the bathroom, things get dirty" Nozaki said.

"Dude, don't say it like that" Hori complained.

_

"I don't know, Sakura. Can we trust Seo?"

"She's my friend. Of course I trust her. Besides, Wakamatsu-kun was with her. He said it was the truth"

"My little brother, in love with Mikoshiba?" Nozaki still processed the whole thing. "I guess it makes sense. Why else would Mayu still be pretending to be a girl in that blog?"

"That's another thing. Mayu hasn't told Mikorin about it yet. This got from bad to worse"

"What are we gonna do?" Nozaki asked. He hasn't yet told Sakura how he feels about her, yet he was gonna fix his brother and his friend's romantic crisis.

"I don't think we should fully get involved. I can just talk to Mikorin and find out whether he's sure or not on how he truly feels" Sakura answered. She knew how to be persuassive, so he trusted her.

"Alright. Meanwhile, I'll just keep inviting Mayu over. They can't avoid each other forever. He'll have to get used to it" Nozaki determined and Sakura nodded.

Once they were out of the bathroom, Hori seemed to have calmed down and began drawing backgrounds.

Suddenly, Wakamatsu slammed the door open and came in stressful.

"Nozaki-senpai! Thank God I can finally come into my safe haven. Seo-senpai keeps insisting that we are dating. Like what? Since when?" he threw himself on the couch.

Nozaki sat down and took out his pen and notepad. "Tell me more about your problems"

_

"IS IT TRUE MAYU-KUN CONFESSED?" Kashima shouted, making other schoolmates begin to whisper.

"Wait, how do you even know about this?" Mikoshiba asked, sweat dripping down his forhead. He was just walking down the hall in school when Kashima abruptly ran to him.

"I heard it from Hori, who heard it from Nozaki, who heard it from Chiyo-chan, who heard it from Yuzuki-chan and Wakamatsu, who were in the sweet shop you and Mayu were in!"

"THEY WERE THERE?!?!" Mikoshiba yelled in horror and crawled into an embarrassed ball. "Gossip sure runs fast"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kashima asked. She frowned. That was very unusual.

"I didn't tell anyone" he sighed.

"But I'm your best friend"

"I knew I'd be pressured to come to a decision, that's why!"

"Why don't you?"

"BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FEEL!" Mikoshiba shouted. Everyone was looking at them and so Kashima decided to drag him to the school's patio.

"You shouldn't know how to feel. You just feel, then you know" Kashima replied.

"Does that even make sense?"

"It does. Anyways, is it because you're denying something to yourself?"

"This doesn't sound like you, Kashima" Mikoshiba said. This was kinda suspicious.

Kashima hid her hand full of running ink. "Whaaaaat?" She nervously laughed.

Mikoshiba raised a brow at her.

"Chiyo-chan told me you'd be more comfortable talking to me..." she surrendered.

"Ugh..." Mikoshiba surrendered as well. "Everything's just so confusing. I mean, I always thought I saw Mayu as a little brother, but then again, I don't know what vibes younger siblings give away. I thought it was normal!"

"Do you still see him as a little brother?"

"OF COURSE I DON'T! Unless you feel like your stomach churns whenever you see how attractive and comforting and wonderful your brother is!" Mikoshiba gagged at the incestuous thought.

Kashima turned a little green as well, but shook the thought away. "Did ya hear that guys?" She shouted to a bush behind them.

"I recorded it" Nozaki came out of the bush with a camera.

"You can't deny it anymore, Mikorin. You totally like Mayu" Sakura teased.

"NO, I DON'T! MAYU DOESN'T HAVE BOOBS. I-I DON'T LIKE ANYONE. I... BYE!" Mikoshiba shouted and ran away.

_

Mayu always made sure that his conversations with 'Mamiko' were limited. He didn't want to talk about feelings. So, they usually had normal conversations like how class went, etcetera.

Mikoshiba was coming over to the Nozaki household today to work on the manga. Had it really been a week since he confessed? Had he really done nothing to see him during the week? His brother had invited him over to his apartment multiple times, but Mayu knew what his motives were.

He figured that Seo would tell them all sooner or later. He knew she was at the shop overhearing ever since she came through the door.

He wanted to talk to Mikoshiba. Maybe today was his chance.

_

He wanted to talk to Mayu. What if he was heartbroken?

He didn't know how to face him. Even if the younger boy concealed his emotions because expressing them was too much effort, his eyes would display a whole different story.

He was walking with Sakura to the Nozaki's. He figured the oldest Nozaki hadn't confessed to Sakura yet.

Once they got there, Nozaki was already sitting by the table, working on sketches.

"I'll go to the bathroom. Be right back" Mikoshiba said. He had really wanted to piss.

Mayu heard the front door opening, so he assumed Mikoshiba had arrived. Walking through the hallway, he heard his brother talking.

"Sakura... there's something I've been meaning to tell you"

Quickly, Mayu hid behind the wall. This was it. Finally.

"Was is it, Nozaki-kun?" Sakura asked, working on beta. Everytime Nozaki told her stuff like this, she knew it would be about her opinion on some dialogue.

The bathroom door opened and Mikoshiba walked out of it. Then he saw Mayu leaning behind the wall.

He breathed, eyes very distant. "Mayu, we need to talk"

Mayu turned to look at him and put a finger over his lips, telling him to be quiet. He beckoned to the living room with his head and made him hide behind the wall as well.

Mikoshiba scrunched his eyes. 'Is this what I think it's happening?'

"I, um..." Nozaki began.

Sakura opened her eyes widely. No, she couldn't get her hopes up.

"C'mon man, just say it" Mikoshiba whispered.

"I'm... your fan" Nozaki shrunk in his position. Why did he say that?

Mikoshiba was utterly disappointed.

"Oh, um. I'm your fan too. I've told you before, haven't I?" She didn't understand where this was going.

"That's not what I meant..." Nozaki sighed. This was harder than he thought.

A door down the hall opened.

"Why are you two hidin--hmph!" Yumeko was silenced by Mayu, who held her still and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"What do you--"

Sakura had lips over hers. It was a quick peck, but it was more than Sakura could ever ask.

Yumeko squealed under Mayu's hand. "This is way better than the anime I was watching"

Mayu and Mikoshiba smiled. At least they got that out of their chest.

They hadn't forgotten they needed to talk to each other. Nozaki and Sakura's sudden romantic involvement had turned into an excuse to avoid their own problems.

_

They were done for the day. Yumeko and Sakura had a little chat. They ended up liking each other, since they had a lot in common. Nozaki left to walk Sakura to the train station.

Mikoshiba was about to leave when Mayu grabbed his wrist. Mikoshiba blushed.

"W-what are you doing?"

"You wanted to talk, right?" Mayu asked.

"Whaaaat? I don't remember saying anything like that" Mikoshiba was a terrible liar. He began sweating.

"I'll walk you home"

"It's late. I don't want you going back by yourself" Mikoshiba was surely avoiding him now. He was confident before, why the change?

"Mikoto-san..." Mayu looked at him straight in the eyes with a serious demeanor. "I know you apologized already. I heard you that day"

"Mayu, I..."

"OUCH!" A scream was heard and Mayu flinched. His sister could not be left alone in the kitchen.

Mayu sighed and ran to Yumeko, who probably burnt her hand.

Mikoshiba took this chance to run away.


	9. Part 9: Please, get this over with

Mikoshiba couldn't stand this anymore. Why was he running away? Why was he avoiding his own feelings?

He decided to text Mayumayu.

[ **To: Mayumayu** ]

 ** _I'm such a loser_**

 ** _I can't face my friend. I can't_**

[ **From: Mayumayu** ]

 ** _Why?_**

 ** _Did you get shy again?_**

[ **To: Mayumayu** ]

 ** _Yea_**

 ** _Everything's so awkward_**

 ** _I just wish things went to the way they were before_**

[ **From: Mayumayu** ]

 ** _Can't they be?_**

 ** _I'm sure ur friend understands that u don't feel the same way_**

 ** _Let them know you want to keep on with the friendship_**

Mikoshiba began typing: **_That's the thing! I may or may not--_**

The phone turned off.

"WHAT?!? Didn't I charge it? Ughh" Mikoshiba groaned, plugged the phone and went to bed. Maybe Mayumayu wasn't meant to know.

 _'I just need some sleep. That's probably it'_

_

 _"Mikoto, it looks like it's going to rain. Why don't you take an umbrella to school?" His mother asked._

 _"I don't know, Mom. 'Woohoo! Weather' said otherwise"_

 _"Well, okay. Be careful. Have a great day!"_

He should've just followed his mother's instincts. Now he was stuck in the school entrance, with only a backpack to cover him.

This sucked. It had been the worst week of his life. Everyone had left school already and the rain didn't seem to stop.

He sighed. Guess he had no other choice but to make a run for it.

_

Mayu was determined. He was not gonna let Mikoshiba run away this time. Not away from his own house at least, especially since it was raining.

On his way, he walked past a grocery store and saw a familiar woman outside, waiting for the rain to cease.

"Oh, Mikoshiba-san" Mayu bowed to Mikoto's mother, who seemed to not have an umbrella with her.

"Mayu-kun. How have you been? It's been a while since you've come to our house"

"I've been busy lately" Mayu answered. "I should drop you by your home"

"If it's not a bother. I gave the umbrella to my husband"

They walked under the umbrella and he helped her with the bags.

"Were you planning on staying today? I've been told that you're a fan of my pork curry" she asked and giggled a little embarrassed.

Mayu nodded and thanked her, going inside the house.

He sat on the couch and Noa welcomed him by sitting on his lap. The feline and him had a complicated relationship. Sometime's she liked him, sometimes she'd scratch him. Since he was too lazy to get her off of him, Mikoshiba would usually help him.

"Oh, looks like Mikoto's not home yet. I'm a little worried. He wasn't carrying an umbrella either"

"I can look for him" Mayu suggested, already grabbing his umbrella and opening the door, only to see a drenched Mikoshiba outside.

"Mayu?"

"Mikoto! Hurry inside, you're gonna get sick" his mother came to him with a towel and dry clothes. "Take a hot bath. I'll go make dinner"

Mayu just looked at him. Mikoshiba's shirt was glued to his skin.

"You can wait in my room" Mikoshiba said, quickly leaving to the bathroom.

_

Mayu looked around the room. So Mikoshiba bought new figurines? He never stopped.

The door opened and closed. Mikoshiba's hair was damp and he was drying it with a towel.

"That one's new" Mayu said, pointing at the girl with short, green hair and a very thin bikini.

"You noticed, huh? I bought it in Hokkaido" Mikoshiba replied.

They just stared at each other until Mayu decided to take out a file folder from his backpack and handed it to Mikoshiba.

"What's this?" Mikoshiba asked, opening the folder, to see a lot of drawings of women. These seemed familiar.

"It's what I wanted to talk to you about"

The more he went through the pages, the more scared he got. "You print Mayumayu's art? Isn't that copyright?"

"I drew them"

"That's impossible" Mikoshiba's voice was shaking.

Mayu sighed and took a paper and pencil from Mikoshiba's desk. Looking quickly at one of the dolls for reference. Once he finished, he handed it to Mikoshiba.

"You can draw? This looks creepily like Mayumayu's art" he awkwardly laughed. He refused to believe it. "A-and your signature is the same"

Mayu took out his phone, opened Mayumayu's blog and went to the messenger app. He gave it to Mikoshiba.

His eyes grew wide. "Nononononono" he cringed, rubbing his forhead with his fingers. "Why?"

"It was so my team would be willing to learn judo techniques..."

"Did you know this whole time? A-about me being Mamiko?"

"Only since Osaka"

"AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME? How could you?"

Mikoshiba was sure angry. His eyes were puffy and guilt spread through Mayu's stomach.

"I'm sorry"

"You're sorry?! You're sorry that you were pretending to be a girl?"

"You were too" Mayu replied.

"B-but you knew. And I told you so many of my secrets. Of course, some of the ones I told Mayumayu were the same ones as I told you but..." Mikoshiba couldn't believe this. "All those things you told me. The compliments, the advices..."

"I meant all of them"

"WHY?" Mikoshiba asked again.

"I wanted to tell you"

"But you didn't"

"I did now"

"BUT BEFORE THIS WHOLE MESS!"

"YOU WERE IN LOVE!" Mayu yelled.

Mikoshiba might have gone crazy, but he had never heard him act like this before. He fell back into his bed. Mayu continued.

"You were in love with Mayumayu... you were happy" he looked downwards for a minute before facing Mikoshiba again, gaining his composture.

"I FELL IN LOVE WITH YOU, DUMBASS" Mikoshiba cried. "What do you think I've been trying to tell you this whole damn time?"

He sighed. He finally said it. He wasn't fully sure of what he felt until his own mouth put words into it.

 _'I... love him'_ this was too much for Mikoshiba to process. And now he was embarrassed and fully red.

Mayu went blank. Did he hear right?

He figured he heard correctly when Mikoshiba became a ball and hid his face from the world.

"I wasn't trying to reject you twice. I just wanted to sort out my feelings first" Mikoshiba finished. He couldn't look at him yet. He felt so naked and exposed whenever Mayu looked through his eyes.

He suddenly felt strongs arms envelop him. The faint scent of summer breeze creeping through his nostrils as the taller guy hugged him.

Mikoshiba slowly gave in and turned around to hug him back, snuggling himself against Mayu's chest.

"I'm still mad at you" he told him, not escaping the hug yet.

Mayu nodded above Mikoshiba's head. He released.

"It stopped raining" Mayu said.

"Let's go out for ice cream after dinner" Mikoshiba said too lowly. Mayu heard him, though.

"So, it's a date"

"DON'T PUT IT LIKE THAT!"

_

This was a terrible idea.

Mikoshiba had never gone on a real date before. He was scared of being left alone with Mayu now? How was he so calm about this?

Oh, right. They had been alone together many times before.

But it was different now. Why couldn't he just act normal?

Mayu held Mikoshiba's hand on the way, but the latter would release whenever too many people walked by.

It's not that he didn't want to hold his hand. The total opposite, in fact. His embarrassment and shyness would takeover.

Mayu had to accept that Mikoshiba wasn't ready to come out so suddenly like this, but he didn't mind. He would wait for him.

Just when they were about to go inside, Sakura and Nozaki walked out.

"Oh, Mikorin, Mayu-kun" Sakura greeted.

"You two on a date?" Mikoshiba teased, which made Nozaki and Sakura blush.

"You too?" Nozaki teased back.

Mikoshiba stammered. "W-what things are you... shut up!"

"We were just about to go to the karaoke with Wakamatsu-kun, Yuzuki, Kashima and Hori-senpai. Wanna come?" Sakura asked.

Mikoshiba shone at the mention of 'karaoke' and looked at Mayu with stars in his eyes. "Pweeasee" he begged.

So much for some time alone with him. Mayu sighed and smiled at him. He couldn't say 'no' when he looked so enthusiastic.

The small karaoke room they were at was too crowded for Mayu's liking, but all around him were his friends, and they seemed excited.

Sakura and Nozaki sang a duet. It wasn't really off-key, but it was out of time. Umetarou tended to change happy songs into sad love songs.

Hori was a really good singer, he tried to convince Kashima to sing with him, but she really didn't want to.

A random girl persuaded her into doing so, and well, Kashima was Kashima.

Everyone covered their ears, or what was left of them, as she sang. Everyone except for Hori, who cheered happily and even danced to the song.

"He's got earplugs, right? He's definitely got earplugs" Seo commented.

Wakamatsu was puzzled. This was the same horrible voice he heard when Seo went into the Glee Club classroom that day. So, it wasn't hers?

 _'What does her voice sound like, then?'_

Nozaki instantly got up, wanting to take the mic from her.

"Not this time" Sakura pulled Nozaki out of the room. Or tried. Hori had to help her. He agreed that it was time Wakamatsu learned the truth.

The world fell to its knees once Seo began singing. The song was in Italian. It was a graceful soprano.

Wakamatsu was slowly falling asleep, not before concluding that the owner of the voice was who he least wanted it to be. He fell, hoping that it was all a nightmare.

It was Mikoshiba's turn. He sure was a different person when he sang.

Mayu knew this song. It was from an anime Mikoshiba loved. He wasn't a bad singer at all. He knew how to hit the right notes. Sad part was when he made eye contact with the crowd, he would get a minor stage fright and his voice would croak.

Once he finished, he got a lot of claps from a small female group in the corner.

"That was amazing. Mikoshiba was it?" A girl clung to his right arm.

"Yeah, you were like a total celebrity" another girl clung to his left arm.

 _"~Oh really? Well, I'd be happy to sign an autograph wherever and whenever you want~"_ Not now.

The girls beggan to giggle and Mikoshiba slowly turned blue in humiliation.

Everyone else turned pale and looked at Mayu, who seemed to not care and continued drinking his soda.

"Oh no" Mikoshiba cursed. He just had to do that in front of his... what is he? On the first day of being together, didn't he?

Mayu didn't seem to move away from his seat, but he threw a glare at the girls around Mikoshiba, which scared them away.

Mikoshiba had enough. He couldn't stand it if Mayu broke up with him. He'd understand it, but he didn't want it to happen.

He pushed the girls aside and grabbed Mayu's hand, taking him away from the building.

Once they were outside on an empty alley, Mikoshiba had a hard time facing Mayu.

"I'm sorry. I mean, I know it's hard to believe, and it'll be hard to forgive me but--"

"It's fine"

Mikoshiba looked at him as if he were disoriented. "What? No, it's not! I--"

"It's a habit of yours. I understand"

"But, I like you. And I can't do that in front of you. No, wait. I can't do that at all!"

"If it helps improve your self-confidence, I won't stop you" Mayu said. He just shrugged. Was that really how he was feeling?

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP! I KNOW IT BOTHERS YOU. YOU EVEN GLARED AT THEM"

Mayu just shrugged.

"I've been treating you terribly today" Mikoshiba admitted. "I don't want my pride and reputation to win. I don't want to care what others think. But I'm even too scared to hold your hand. I avoided our first date by going to a crowded place. I start hitting on girls and telling them cheesy lines..." he groaned.

"Don't worry. I don't ever want you to throw those pickup lines at me"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

"Mikoto-san, you're nervous. I'll just wait until you get used to all of this. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or rushed in--"

Mikoshiba just couldn't have it. He had to shut him up. He kissed him tenderly, wrapping his arms around his neck.

Mayu was surprised. He always thought he'd be the one to kiss first. Nevertheless, he kissed back, putting his arms behing Mikoshiba's back.

Mikoshiba released and they both began blushing madly. He wanted to hide. He wanted to run away, but his heart knew he couldn't.

"You're unbelievable" Mikoshiba said and hugged him. "I could say 'you're the best', but seriously. If I ever get carried away by girls, just pull another 'he's mine'. I'll do my best"

Mayu nodded and began to yawn.

Mikoshiba smiled. He found it odd that Mayu wasn't looking for an excuse to sleep. He must have been trying really hard to keep awake to be with him. "It's past eleven. I'll walk you to your house. Your brother doesn't seem like he'll be leaving anytime soon"

"Your house is closer" Mayu said.

There was no malice in his voice. The dirty thoughts that plagued Mikoshiba never once crossed Mayu's mind.

"W-what are you... fine. But you're sleeping in the guest room"

"You mean as I've always done whenever I stay over..." Mayu was unsure why Mikoshiba was acting weird.

"Just a reminder" Mikoshiba defended.

They started walking side to side. Before Mayu could think, Mikoshiba reached out for his hand.

And so, they walked like that till they got to the house.

\--T H E E N D--


End file.
